The Team

Principal Investigator

Orit Sivan

Lab Manager

Efrat Aliani Russak

In addition to working as the lab manager I am also undertaking research. Dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) compounds are pollutants of water from environmental and human- health points of view. A large portion of the mostly anthropogenic DIN inputs is consumed by microorganisms before reaching the oceans. My current research interests deal with the consumption of DIN in different terrestrial environments facilitating stable isotopes. Another interest of mine is the potential use of stable isotopes as a tool for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy investigations (links to poster).
elianief@bgu.ac.il

Current Post Docs

André Pellerin

My expertise lies in quantifying the biological, chemical and geological processes occurring in sediments. I use tracers of metabolic activity in order to quantify organic matter mineralization rates and stable isotopes, radioactive isotopes and geochemical measurements to determine the pathways and fate of the final products of degradation. I acquire through field campaigns both on land and at sea, measurements, samples and materials for subsequent laboratory experiments and analysis. I apply my expertise to quantify the processes that lead to greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere.
andrepellerin@gmail.com

Valeria Boyko

My current research interest is the study of links between biogeochemical cycles of redox-sensitive elements such as manganese, iron, sulfur and carbon in aquatic sediments, the precipitation of authigenic minerals and their broader implications.
valeri.boyko@gmail.com

Almog Gafni

As an environmental microbiologist I am interested in expending our knowledge on anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) processes in lake sediments. This is mainly by enhancing these processes in enrichment cultures and explore the microbial communities responsible for them.
almog.gafni@gmail.com

Current Ph.D Students

Shaked Stein

My research is about desalination of saline ground water in the coastal aquifer of Israel. I examine the suitability of saline ground water as a raw material for desalination plants. I compare it with sea water through examination of chemical and physical properties of the water.
shakedstein@gmail.com

Hanni Vigderovich

I explore the novel process we recently found in Lake kinneret of iron coupled anaerobic oxidation of methane (Fe-AOM). The study uses mainly a geochemical isotope approach.
chani669@gmail.com